Now the Echo Press newspaper in Alexandria (or "Alex" or "Alec") is hand-wringing over the sea change we're seeing. A newspaper's fortunes is tied to some legacy models.
Who ever thought the institution of the shopping mall would face a death knell? There was a time when this great institution of American life - an equalizer, as all were welcome there to shop or "hang out" - had unquestioned primacy. The power of the digital world is trumping that institution. And with the decline of bricks and mortar comes the near-toppling of our traditional newspaper.
The Alex shopping mall has become the focus for speculation and gossip, such is its staggered state.
Newspapers were already reeling with the decline of the "department store," the one-size-fits-all shopping hub that was Americana. The digital world plows through barriers. Much as a part of us wants to cling to the idyllic vision of Norman Rockwell - people seeing their neighbors on "main street" - there is such a thing as "creative destruction."
If you believe in our free market economy, you must simply shrug. "Adapt or die," said Brad Pitt as Billy Beane in "Moneyball." Some of us might want to stick to the old days some, just out of comfort or self-assurance, but it's a fool's errand. The new way becomes imperative.
General Motors pushes efficiencies which makes me wonder about the future of our Heartland Motors in Morris. I wonder if car sales will experience something like what has happened with our pharmacies. Two pharmacies have become one. ShopKo said "uncle" and now the cheese stands alone: Thrifty White. But Thrifty White itself has been through a sea change. Thrifty White had an array of offerings not long ago from two friendly places on main street. Man, when I was a kid, main street was a beehive, so necessary for our needs of commerce, you'd see parking meters. People paid to simply park downtown.
I wonder if Heartland Motors and Valu Ford will morph into one entity. If advertising is an indicator, Heartland would be the stronger of the two. But how important is advertising? The Echo Press of Alexandria is owned by Forum Communications, same owner as the Morris paper. By my estimation, the Forum has been pretty aggressive with retrenchment so as to maximize profit, at least in the short term. This has meant substantially less product.
I can't imagine what it would be like to work for the Morris paper now. No joy to be sure, no sense of humor, no laid-back or relaxed atmosphere, no irreverence. My perception makes me rather a dinosaur in this regard. The paper employees probably wouldn't admit it, but they fear further draconian measures to ensure profit can be propped up (again, for the short term because that's the criterion that rules).
For the time being we worship the corporate ethos, I suspect not because we really want to. We have been browbeaten into this outlook on life. "Well, it's financial reality." Well, it is if we make it that way. The alternative would be to focus on the common good, our environment and our state of mind, our self-respect, many of the intangibles in life, the kind of thing that many of the younger progressives (i.e. social democrats) suggest. Maybe we'll need to accept a somewhat lower standard of living. But we'll have to ask ourselves: what should our standards really be?
Many millennials question the need to even own a car. Not own a car? Mercy! Post-WWII, the car was a virtual symbol for American independence and affluence.
We don't need so many "toys" to entertain ourselves. A TV screen and a computer or laptop fills the bill in ways we have come to take for granted. Believe me, I'm 63 years old and I'm still pinching myself. I still consider basic cable TV rather a miracle.
The Echo Press of Alexandria seems concerned about creative destruction. Creative destruction, in terms of being pointed potentially right at them. Is the Alex paper like a broken down boxer, staggered to his corner, bloodied and desperate? Furthermore, should we care? Well, the paper thinks we ought to care, pretty obviously from its standpoint of self-interest.
Let's all get out our little violins.
The transformation in our economy wrought by digital life has erased much of the traditional print-based advertising. Thus we see "a message from the Echo Press publisher." It's still Jody Hanson. I found her to be a very agreeable person, more so than Morris newspaper management. I'll bet she has aged more than I have in the last dozen years. I would have stayed longer with the Morris paper if they had had me. Then I'd experience the string of cutbacks, proceeding relentlessly, irresistible. No more Hancock paper? No more Ad-Viser? Tiny newspapers, especially after the Christmas/New Year's holiday?
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| Jody Hanson (MNA image) |
She talks about "sports games" but does anyone really care about all that beyond the headlines (maybe not even that). The parents do, and good for them, seriously. Church activities? Well fine, but if you belong to a church, that church surely has its own totally informative website. You can interact with things online.
Advertising? Well gaw-lee, as Gomer Pyle would say, people all over the place are learning to shop online. The Echo Press seems to be bemoaning our change in habits. But hey, if people are adopting different habits when it comes to shopping and getting information, it's because they prefer it!
The old images of main street shopping with men going to the "pool hall" are nestled in our memory, fondly, and on Norman Rockwell magazine covers. We see charm in all of that, as we do with the Eisenhower administration. But times change, because if you haven't noticed, we now have a president that is the polar opposite of Ike in terms of temperament and class.
"Ag news?" Whatever type of information you seek about ag, go online and find it, immediately and for free. The spring "ag section" in the Morris paper is 100 percent a relic of past times, existing only on a legacy basis (because, well, it's always existed).
The most fascinating part of Hanson's editorial is a listing of Alexandria business "casualties." Here's how she writes about this.
Yes, it's been a tough couple of years for our community. We have lost Herberger's, J.C. Penney, Payless Shoes, Glenwear, Randy's Menswear, GNC, Ben Franklin, Sears, ABC Auto, Wendy's, Papa John's, Bello Cucina, Royal Tire, the Galla, Carriage House, Tennessee Roadhouse, Godfather's and there are more. The Mustard Seed is closing and some other stores are struggling to stay open. Yes, with these closures, the newspaper has lost thousands in advertising revenue but this has not deterred us from our goal of delivering the news you can use and the advertising to support it. We can't provide service for free. Expenses are looked at for efficiencies.
It costs money to run a community newspaper just like it does to run any other business. The Internet and Amazon are killing our small communities. Now more than ever we all have to support each other to keep our communities alive.
Killing? Seems like misplaced hyperbole.
Hanson appears to be suggesting that we "support each other" through extraordinary means that are outside our immediate day to day priority of taking care of ourselves, something that I think we all do pretty well and without coaching. Maybe what Hanson is saying is: "Darn it, pay no attention to the man behind the curtain, just buy more newspaper advertising." Why? "Well, because we want you to."
Jim Gesswein the car dealer appears to be clinging to the old days with his continual full-page ads in the Canary, and his incessantly smiling mug.
Schizophrenic mind?
Hanson concludes "here's to continued success in 2019." But, she appears to have written this editorial because of lack of success or a fear of plunging into the depths.
It's a case of whistling past the graveyard.
Is the Alexandria shopping mall D.O.A.? Seems so. My family used to plan trips to "Alex" or "Alec" based almost entirely on being able to visit the mall, to dine at the Brass Lantern etc. I would buy the current issue of "America's Civil War" magazine from the rack at the mall bookstore. It's gone. Last summer I tried finding specialized magazines downtown and could not.
I don't feel it's worth it to drive all the way to Alexandria just to dine at Burger King. Indeed, many millennials feel it isn't even necessary to own a car.
We're missing something, evidently. But are we really worse off? Realistically, I think not. If I can buy an office chair from Wayfair for half what it would cost from a furniture store, I'll take it, thank you. So, the furniture store wouldn't be able to advertise as much. Get out your little violin? Ah, forget it.
Furniture stores are notorious for "tacky" advertising. I have always wondered about that.
Do you really need to see the Elden's grocery circular with the local newspaper? Chuck the paper pollution. It's the dawning of a new age. We may not have seen the half of it yet. A newspaper publisher who postures out of self-interest isn't going to change the course of things.
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com
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